Im taking her to autopsy?
Yes.
I thought Blair House was closed for renovations. Green nodded. It isthe preservationists wont let the place be torn down, and its not due for construction crews to begin work for another few weeks. I want the team in the area. Ill set up a meeting for you tomorrow with the team and the team head, Special Agent Jackson Crow.
Jude stood. It was decided, and he knew it. So much for his social life. Waithe didnt really have a social life. Since he and Jill had parted last spring, hed enjoyed three one-night stands and a two-week dating whirl. Actually, hed had three one-night standsenjoyed two.
All right. I want Hannah Mills in Tech.
Shes yours.
Jude nodded again. And I have priority at autopsynow, and if this does go further?
I just called Fullbright. Hell be your man, and he will be ready to meet with you at three this afternoonthe autopsy is already scheduled.
Jude nodded again. Im going back to the scene until then. Ill meet your Miss Tremont at two, and well be at autopsy together at three. And dont give me that resigned look. Ill call Ellis and get his team moving, too.
Youre the best Ive got, Jude. And Im giving you priority all the way, Green told him.
Jude wasnt sure he was the best that the deputy chief had. Hell, hed just watched his partner get shot in a situation that should have never ended as it had.
But this was what he did; hed known all his life that, like his father and grandfatherand great-grandfather before thathed wanted to be a cop. Hed been lucky; hed gone to college and gotten degrees in criminology and psychology, something his father and grandfather hadnt been able to acquire. But theyd both been good cops. The kind who put the bad guys away.
This was one bad guy they were going after and they all knew it.
Ill do my absolute best, sir, Jude said.
I know you will.
He had been dismissed. He headed straight to Tech Support, where he discovered that Green had put through a call to Hannah Mills. Hannah was excited; shed never actually spoken directly to Green before.
She was a whiz with computers, and if a piece of information was available anywhere, Hannah could find it. At one time in history, she would have been called a spinster. She was a slender woman with bottle-thick wire glasses, brown hair worn in a bun each day and a mind that could work as quickly as a computer.
Im making printouts for you, theyll be popping out as we speak, she told Jude.
She was with the movie crew? Jude asked.
She was portraying prostitute Mary Green. She was an extra, I believe, but she had a fair amount of screen time. Maybe even a line or two. Anyway, I have a list for you. The producer, the director, the name of the off-duty officer patrolling a liaison with the movie and television unit. I think its all here. And when you want more, you call me, day or night! She stood up in her little cubicle and planted a kiss on his cheek. Thank you, Jude! Thank you for asking for me.
Thank you for being a good tech. I do have something for you. I want you to find out all you can about a Captain Tyler, a Vietnam vet.
Oh, that Tyler. I thought you meant one of the thousand others on the island of Manhattan.
Very funny. This one would have been in and out of local veterans hospitals.
On it, she assured him.
And one moreI want everything you can find about a government group put together by a man named Adam Harrison. Team head is Jackson Crow.
The name is familiar. Ill get right on it.
Jude returned to lower Broadway, opting to walk back to the scene. On a television screen, through an appliance-shop window, he could see that Deputy Chief Green himself was speaking to the media. He urged citizens to calm down and be vigilant.
He put a in call to Ellis and let him know that he and his group were to join Jude and the feds. Before he had reached the scene of the crime again, he had everyone in motion; they would start with initial interviews of everyone on the movie set. He looked at the list Hannah had given him; he could get one of the feds to make sure that this list and the list that Smith was able to garner matched. Like it or not, he was working with the feds. Might as well make use of them.
With careful steps, he walked from the set to where the body had been found, reimagining the victims probable search for a cab, and how the killer had come upon her. All the while he searched for Captain Tyler as well. But though he made new acquaintances with several of the homeless people on the streets, he didnt find Tyler.
He felt a growing sense of anger.
Someone out there was either amusing himself at the expense of the police, or sincerely thought himself the reincarnation of a legendary killer.
The victim probably hadnt had time to scream. New York had been teeming with life just blocks awaythe population was huge.
Just as it had been in the crowded tenements of Whitechapel and the East End of London.
The killer had probably surprised her; choked her to unconsciousness before slitting her throat.
His phone rang. It was Hannah.
Whats up? What have you got?
Info, but not on the victimon your team, Hannah told him.
There was a strange excitement in her voice.
Theyre a special team, all right. Theyve barely been around a year, but theyve already solved a number of really bizarre cases. Judetheyre a paranormal team. They dont just investigate, they appear to talk to ghosts. Theyre highly respected for what theyve done, but theyre also a bit on the outside, even of the FBI itself. Only the head guy, that Jackson Crow, has been a special agent for a long time. But hes supposed to be one of the best behavioral guys out there. They sound good, really good. But weird, too. You must have heard something about this group. They solved a creepy murder in New Orleans that had to do with all kinds of political corruption.
I might have heard something, he said. He winced. Leave it him to wind up with the special team. Which reminded him
Thanks, Hannah. I have to meet one of the agents now, and its good to be forewarned.
He hung up. On to meet his spiritualist or medium or whatever. Hed been told he had to work with the team; he would. Hed be polite. Hed spend the days and nights reminding himself that all help was needed at the moment.
The days and nights ahead suddenly seemed extremely long.
Be polite. Collect the special agent. And then on to autopsy.
2
Blair House.
It stood behind a wall and next to an area where a massive construction project seemed to be under wayexcept that the construction crews didnt appear to be out. The house was barely a block away from Wall Street, and another block from Broadway, within easy distance of St. Pauls, Trinity and the World Trade Center site.
Blair House itself was as out of sync with the current pulse of the city as the churches with their early American graveyards.
As far as the financial concerns of humanity went, it only made sense to tear down the old to make way for the new.
But, Whitney Tremont had been glad to hear, Blair House was not going to be torn down. It was slated for a great deal of renovation; federal money was coming in to tend to a federal projectit was said that among the many places George Washington slept, Blair House was one of his favorites.
Blair House itself was as out of sync with the current pulse of the city as the churches with their early American graveyards.
As far as the financial concerns of humanity went, it only made sense to tear down the old to make way for the new.
But, Whitney Tremont had been glad to hear, Blair House was not going to be torn down. It was slated for a great deal of renovation; federal money was coming in to tend to a federal projectit was said that among the many places George Washington slept, Blair House was one of his favorites.
A low brick wall obscured much of the facade, while wrought-iron detail, tangled with ivy, rose from the wall. She could see the house from the sidewalk only because the driver who had picked her up from the airport had provided her with keys, and she had opened the gate while awaiting her NYPD liaison, Detective Jude Crosby.
The brick path to the house was overgrown, as was the houses yard area. To the left, there was a charming pagoda overrun with ivy and flowering plants and to the right, a fountain that no longer trickled water was in a similar state.
The house itself was Greek Revivalseveral steps led up to a porch with fine Ionic columns. The front door was double-wide with etched-glass porticoes.
The off-white paint was peeling. The columns obviously needed help as well.
Its not as bad as it looks.
She turned, startled. She had been giving the house so much attention that she hadnt noticed the tall man who had walked up to her on the sidewalk.
He was actually hard not to notice; he was a good six foot three and built like a linebacker.
I wasnt thinking that it was bad, she told him. I was just thinking that its beautiful, and Im glad theyre not tearing it down. She offered him a hand. Special Agent Whitney Tremont, Detective Crosby. Thank you for being here.
He shrugged his broad shoulders. Sure. The situation is bad. Whatever it takes. Need a hand with your bag?
She shook her head. Im fine. We can just head on in.
He hadnt exactly been warm and cuddly, but he wasnt being rude, and he seemed to be sincere. Other agencies sometimes resented FBI involvement in a casethey werent always fond of the fact that someone over them had invited the feds in.
Shed never exactly intended to work for the federal government, but she didnt mind. As long as they were left to work alone, it just didnt matter. And since the head of their unit, Jackson Crow, had established himself as an agent with an exemplary record before hed been given his current team, she was more than willing to accept the occasional snickers that came their way. Jackson could stare down any man and silence him within a matter of seconds.
I believe they had a cleaning crew come in alreadya good thing, since I dont imagine that you and your team would want a lot of people around. Jude Crosby told her. Also, if I know my superiors, they had staples brought in, so you should have essentials.
Thanks.
He studied her for a minute; his face gave nothing away. Well, I guess we should get you settled. He actually grinned. You know its a haunted house, right?
What self-respecting house this old isnt haunted? she asked.
He was still sizing her up, of course, given the teams reputation. She smiled, not saying anything. They were all welcome to wonder. Detective Crosby would meet Jackson Crow soon enough. Jackson had a tenet he lived by, and the team followed its simple sentimentuse logic, and then feelings.
The rest of your team isnt arriving until tomorrow? he asked her.
Thats right.
So youre staying here alone tonight?
Yes, and Ill be fine. Let me take a quick look around, drop my bag and we can go to the autopsy.
He pointed to the area next door. Thats where they were filming the movie and thats where the victim came from when she was leaving. Im surprised that they sent you in alone.
You shouldnt be. I went through a lot of sessions at the shooting range. I passed, Whitney told him.
Can you shoot a ghost? he asked. The question seemed pleasant enough, but she realized she was being mocked. She wondered if he was more concerned that she was a ghost-hunting special agent, or that she was a small woman.
Im quite competent, thank you, she assured him.
All right, your call Just remember, please, its an NYC case with NYC police heading the investigation. Im impressed that a unit was asked in immediately. Somebody thinks that your ghost huntingthat your teamis top-notch. Thing is, theres nothing really around you at night, unless you want to count the dead in Trinitys and St. Pauls graveyards. Last night, that crew working this area so late was unusual. But thats film for you.
He didnt wait for her reply; he started up the walk.
Whitney stepped into the main hallway, which was long and extremely broad. A slim curving staircase against the western wall led to the floor above, and she could see down the hallway to the door that opened to the back. She wanted to stop, to try to sense the place, but she didnt; not with Jude Crosby watching.
They say the foundations of this old place date back to the last decades of the eighteenth century. There were lots of fires back then, though, and not a lot of control. I think the current structure is from 1810. I have to say, Im glad theyre preserving it, too. Wonder what it was like back in the day. I mean, New York moves like a bullet. I love the city.
Its a great city, Whitney murmured. Whitney noted that the hallway had probably been the grand meeting room of the house; parties had probably been held right there with indentured servants or slaves walking the room at times with silver trays. A grand piano sat against the wall at the rear; she wondered just how old it might be. But shed have to explore later. Whatever happened with the New York City police, she wanted to make sure that she was there from the get-go, and that her prep work had been done. They were there to assist the police, not to take over an investigation, no matter how much pull they might have with different power structures. Shed spent the trip reading email on the current murderpreliminary notes onlyand, since the cry was out that the murder seemed to be mimicking that of a long-ago Ripper victim, she had spent most of the time during her flight on her iPad, downloading the best books she could find on the elusive killer from the past.
Ive only been in this house a few times, Jude told her. When I was a kid on school tours, before it was closed down for renovations. Im going to suggest you snag the first room up the stairs on your left. The last ownerswho gave it to the government about twenty years agohad a nice bathroom installed up there.
Thanks, she told him.
Go on, take a peek. Ill carry your bag on up, and then Ill get you down to the morgue.
Thanks, she told him again.
He was an imposing presence. His features were as rugged as his muscled formhandsome, masculine, strong, with the right amount of rough around the edges.
Not a good thought, she told herself. She had to be blunt and strong herself; in fact, she was going to have to make sure that she remained smoothly professional in every way. They needed his respect. In her case, at five-three, she was fighting physical odds right from the start.